Bones For Teeth Cleaning

[Guest JsMom]

I've been having trouble keeping my dog's teeth clean. At our first vet, he said his teeth were fine, even though they looked disgusting to us (but now we know it's all relative in the world of greys) and never did a dental. Finally, a couple of years ago, I told him to give him a dental anyway, just to clean things up. At the time, he was 6 and had never had a dental. He came back not looking too much different: Still some stains, gross-looking discoloration around the gumline on his fangs, etc. I wasn't sure what we'd just paid for.

 

Fast forward to earlier this year. We switched vets last year, and decided to give him another dental. He came back with the cleanest teeth I've ever seen on a dog! All stains and yuckiness GONE. I was amazed that they were able to get his teeth that clean. That was in February, now it's October, and his teeth look so awful they want him to have another dental. I agree. Now they look really yellow/brown and crusty/gunky, like BAD teeth.

 

He doesn't get much in the way of treats b/c he has a sensitive stomach. Whenever I've tried brushing in the past, it doesn't seem to do much except make his gums bleed. For this same reason we've never given him bones to chew. Other chewy toys he's just not interested in, and turkey necks and rawhide make him sick (I think he doesn't chew well enough to digest them).

 

We can't afford a dental twice a year, so I just bought him a bone from Petco to see how he'd do. It's just a plain white bone (Red Farm or Red Barn, whichever the brand is), and he's going to town on it! His mouth is bleeding a little. How long should I let him have it each day to get his teeth clean but without ending up with broken teeth and bleeding gums?

[TheFullHouse]

I give mine raw meaty bones. I will let them chew on them for as long as they like.

[Guest JsMom]

Oh, I should have mentioned the raw bones.... I've tried them several times in the past and he got sick a few times. AND they didn't seem to do much.... Hence the question of how long they should chew before we start seeing some results? I used to let him chew for about an hour on the raw bones, then take them away and put them back in the freezer til next time. Is that not enough time each day?

[Guest KennelMom]

you have to give bones regularly to see a difference. It's not so much about cleaning them up as it is about preventing buildup in the first place. For best dental health, a variety of raw meaty bones is best...several times a week at least.

 

When introducing raw bones to the diet, they can upset the stomach b/c you're introducing a very novel food to a kibble fed dog...totally different environment to digest "real" food vs kibble. It usually sorts out if you give bones regularly.

[Guest JsMom]

That makes sense. So if I go back to raw bones, just let him have his upset stomach and keep giving them to him?

 

And as for "raw meaty bones" -- usually the bones we get at the grocery store or from the beef farmers at the farmers market aren't exactly meaty. They're raw bones, no meat on them. Should I be buying bone-in steak and trimming the meat off (leaving some behind), or is what I'm seeing from the farmers raw meaty bones?

 

ETA: He gnawed on that bone for about a half hour, then passed out with a huge grin on his face. I think he's high.

Edited October 7, 2011 by JsMom

[TheFullHouse]

Those are fine. Like Heather said, if given on a regular basis you shouldn't see the minor tummy upset. Mine would get loose stools in the beginning but don't any more.

[OwnedBySummer]

I don't feed raw but I'm told by those who do, you know you have given too much bone if the poop gets chalky.

 

And as for "raw meaty bones" -- usually the bones we get at the grocery store or from the beef farmers at the farmers market aren't exactly meaty. They're raw bones, no meat on them. Should I be buying bone-in steak and trimming the meat off (leaving some behind), or is what I'm seeing from the farmers raw meaty bones?

I, too, have never really been clear on what kind of bone to give. I have absolutely no problem with letting Summer chew on raw bones outside but, other than a turkey neck, I've never known exactly what to buy. So she's never had one. Raw steak bones are pretty easy to get! Any other precise bone types that we can use?

Edited October 7, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest JsMom]

This is one of the many reasons we don't feed raw. I wish we could.... We've only gotten chalky poop once. The other times, it was quite the opposite, so I figured they were too rich and he couldn't handle them.

[TheFullHouse]

You can get marrow or knuckle bones. Knuckle bones are a little softer than marrow bones.

[Guest Swifthounds]

If you want teeth cleaning and not tooth damage, you want to stick with meaty bones rather than bare or nearly bare weight bearing bones of large ungulates (ie cattle leg bones). Bare bones not only present a danger, they only do half the job. It's the "meaty" portion that cleans incisors and even canines.

 

Things like chicken backs are good starters as they have softer bones than things like leg quarters and turkey necks, which take more work to chomp and to digest. Eventually, you can work up to something like a pork picnic with most of the meat trimmed off (looks like a cattle keg bone, but is much much kinder to teeth).

 

Daily tooth brushing is a good thing if you're feeding kibble and seeing buildup. Yes, you'll see bleeding especially at first because the dog's diet isn't working the jaw and gums. Over time the bleeding will diminish. If you only brushed once every sic months you would see much the same bleeding - and you probably have the added advantage of chewing your food.

[Guest june]

I recently bought deer antlers and my dogs love them. Do they help keep teeth clean? They will still get them no matter if they do or not. Just curious.

[Guest JsMom]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't realize knuckle bones were softer. How long do they chew them at a time?

 

As for chicken backs, I didn't know all that either! I just assumed turkey necks were the way to go. Where do you find chicken backs?? I don't think any of the grocery stores here do their own butchering (I have one in mind I can ask) and the one place I can think of that has a butcher charges ridiculous amounts (like $3/pound) for scraps. I would think that would add up, especially if he's getting 3-4 chicken backs/week... (He'd eat a whole one each time, right?)

[Guest Swifthounds]

Knuckle bones (which aren't knuckles oddly enough - always wondered where they got that name) will have more cartilage than a straight leg bones. They are, however, still cooked bones so they can splinter.

 

As for backs, you may never have bought them or looked for them before, but they're common at most supermarkets in Tyson and Purdue packaging and sometimes as a store brand. They're not really a specialty item, but if your grocer doesn't carry them usually they can order them.

 

Prices vary by region, but around here they're usually .49 to .89 per pound.

[Guest JsMom]

Thanks for the info. I have no idea what I was thinking.... He is apparently allergic to chicken! We are in the process of switching to a new food and I can't believe I spaced that little detail. Although, he does love chicken and if it cleans his teeth, maybe it's worth a little itching for a few months.

[JAJ2010]

My Rainy is VERY allergic to cooked chicken. you will most likely be fine with using raw chicken. She eats chicken necks daily as part of her diet. Although chicken necks are too small to teeth clean. The key is zero grains. No cookies, only give jerky treats plus keep a variety of things to chew on. Pork can be a bit rich so be mindful of that. I generally use marrow bones, raw beef neck bones, raw rib bones, bully sticks, pressed rawhides, pig ears, pizzle sticks, cow hooves, chicken quarters, stuffed cow hooves, occasional greenie, etc. The bigger the variety the more he will want to keep chewing. Just let him decide when to stop. As long as he's not getting huge gashes in his gums and increased pain I wouldn't worry about it. They may bleed as he scrapes them clean.

[Guest JsMom]

Really??? So even if he can't have chicken kibble/cooked chicken, he could probably handle a raw chicken back with no problems? Excellent.

 

I looked at his bone this morning (Day 3, I think) and there's NO blood on it. Then I looked at his teeth, and the back teeth that were orange are now only half orange. There is a distinct line where the tartar broke off from the chewing. This is the first time in the 6 1/2 years that we've had him that I've seen ANYTHING (other than a full dental, including teeth brushing and teeth rubbing with Listerine) that has had any effect at all on his teeth. I wish I'd done this sooner, and known that the raw stuff just needs to be given more often.

 

Once he is fully on his new food and I know his digestion is stable I'll start giving him the other raw stuff and see how that works, too. I'm so excited! Thanks for all the info!!

[Guest Swifthounds]

Plenty of dogs who don't do well on cooked chicken or chicken based kibbles do just fine and even thrive on a raw diet pretty heavy in chicken, provided it's not "enhanced" with a sodium broth.

 

It's a good trick to use "enhanced" chicken injected with a sodium broth to make kibble. The ingredients are listed by weight and the injected broth adds water weight to the chicken, making it seem like there's more chicken in the food than there actually is.

 

All dogs will be affected by the added salt brother to some degree, some much more than others.

[LaFlaca]

My Wendy gets raw meaty bones, predominantly turkey necks, several times a week and I brush her teeth once a week. I also supplement with a product called Proden PlaqueOff which is a natural product made from seaweed. It makes the plaque literally flake off the teeth; I can flick it off with my fingernail. PlaqueOff is not recommended for dogs with thyroid issues.

[Guest saltwaterron]

i give riley frozen turkey necks. her vet thought that he had cleaner her teeth in the past. i told him about the turkey necks and he said riley had the cleanest teeth he had seen in a long time.

[Guest JsMom]

So if he's puking up chunks of turkey necks (or whatever raw bones I give him) b/c he doesn't chew well enough, do I just keep giving them to him til he figures it out? Or is that not something he'll learn? (It's not worth it if he's going to puke every time and also not chew well enough to clean his teeth to begin with!)

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

You can try giving it to them frozen; it makes them chew them up better and not swallow such huge chunks. Mine get chicken backs, leg quarters, necks, and a little bit of the "guts" a couple of times a week (used to be dinner every night but I had to cut back due to finances.) I buy whole chickens; cut them up myself, save the breast and wing portions for the "people" dinners, and freeze up individual meals of a leg quarter, neck, and a bit of giblets, or a back, whatever equals out to a dinner -size portion. It is pretty inexpensive that way; and I save up the breastbones and wingtips until I have enough to make a big batch of stock so nothing goes to waste!